Treasurer's Report: Carolyn M. gave the board a written financial report. A
copy is included with these minutes. Currently, the balance on hand is
$399.73. Since the last report in April, GCWG has taken in $1132.00 and
expended $2082.00. The expenditures were primarily for inventory (T-shirts,
polo shirts, etc.) and for NFS bulletin board upgrades.

Upcoming Member Meeting: Marshall suggested Friday, October 21st, as a
possible date for the next GCWG member meeting. Several board members noted
that they could not be present that date. After discussion on another date
and a preferred day of the week, Sunday, November 6th, was decided on. The
meeting will be held at the Adam's Camp at the YMCA, the site of the last few
meetings.

The question of a speaker was raised. Carolyn M. suggested someone from the
Department of Wildlife. Roger noted that Mike Crosby of the DOW is an
interesting speaker. Marshall suggested a speaker on geo-technology. The
board discussed the ideal length of time for a guest speaker presentation.
Joan felt that 20 to 30 minutes was a maximum and that a presentation on
geo-technology would require more time than that. The board agreed. Jerry
suggested Chuck Cesar, a wildlife biologist at the BLM. Carolyn M. noted that
we are looking for someone who expands our knowledge of the area. Marshall
will contact the DOW for a speaker.

Web Site: Al asked if the board was interested in putting up a Web site. The
board questioned the cost involved and noted that it might be a good way of
communicating with members, but the problem is that you don't know who has read
the information posted on the page. Marshall noted that John Ehlen has offered
to host and update the site. Since John is frequently out-of-town, Al
volunteered to update the site when John is gone. The board discussed the
kinds of information that could be posted on the site: a schedule of events,
the cabin hosting schedule, the trail hosting schedule. Marshall will check
with John on steps needed to implement the site.

GCWG Handbook: Joan brought up the idea of a GCWG handbook. Carolyn M.
offered to write down ideas for the book. Mary offered to help. Joan
suggested involving an absolute group newcomer in this activity to get input on
what they would like to know. Toni raised the issue of printing costs. The
board felt that the handbook would just be a few pages and the cost would not
be significant. Carolyn M. ran through a possible outline of topics to be
included in the handbook.

GCWG Philosophy: Marshall asked for a discussion of the group philosophy. Is
there an optimum size for the group? How do people hear about us? What should
be the nature of the projects we take on and how many projects should we
involve ourselves in?

Carolyn M. noted that the current membership is 120. Al suggested that a
larger membership may require a more structured organization. Carolyn observed
that annual membership dues are an indication of re-commitment. Maybe these
dues should be higher. The board noted that the variety of service projects
offered have kept a significant number of members involved. Jerry wondered if
we are getting involved in too many things. Are our higher priorities, such as
trail hosting, slipping? Al noted that there is a misconception about trail
hosting. Some members think that if they have not signed up to host that day,
their time on the trail does not count. The board agreed that a member is
trail hosting if they wear a GCWG shirt and an NFS volunteer badge and that
these hours are reportable. The proposed handbook can be used to make this
clear to new members. Joan noted that we need to differentiate between
information passed on by the GCWG, such as a volunteer call for Daisy Days, and
our on-going commitments, i.e., cabin and trail hosting and bulletin board
maintenance. Marshall reported that we have met all our hosting commitments
this season. The board agreed that the service aspect of the group will be
stressed in future newspaper coverage.

Phone Tree: Joan asked for board input on the idea of implementing a phone
tree to get more GCWG members involved in more activities. It was suggested
that a phone call may be putting someone on a guilt trip rather than making
them more involved. Carolyn M. suggested taking a positive approach by
recognizing our member volunteers. Roger suggested that raising dues may raise
member commitment levels. Mary suggested recognizing member volunteer levels
in an impersonal way by giving statistics at the fall meeting that focus on the
number of group members who have participated in GCWG activities this season,
not just the total number of volunteer hours accumulated. The board discussed
ways to get new members involved more quickly. Mary suggested that board
members could invite new members to their home for dessert and an informal
“get-acquainted with the group” get-together. Carolyn M. observed that new
memberships cluster around the spring and fall meetings and the summer milk can
picnic. Joan suggested carpooling to meetings and activities with new members
as a way to get acquainted. Joyce suggested that active members could call new
members to invite them to trail host with them.

Thank You: Joan thanked the board for her appreciation gift.

Group Photo: Joan asked if a GCWG group photo should be a tradition and if the
photo taken at the milk can picnic should be considered this year's official
photo. We need to identify everyone in the photo. Roger offered to trace out
the faces. It was decided that the photo would be labeled as “milk can picnic
participants” and no further individual identification would be done, since
there may be some guests in the photo.

Miscellaneous: Joan showed pictures of the new sign posts that the GCWG and
the NFS are putting up at selected trailheads. Marshall asked that these
pictures be displayed at the fall member's meeting.

Joan submitted pictures of the building of the Junco outhouse for the
scrapbook.

Joan suggested that a short list of trails where dogs are allowed off-leash be
compiled so that it can be distributed at Monarch cabin and at the NFS office.
Jerry and Carolyn Stahl offered to create the list.

Art Fair Booth: Joyce asked for feedback on T-shirt sales at the Art Fair and
suggestions for alternate places to sell the shirts. She reported that $257
worth of shirts were sold at the fair and 5 new members joined. She had no
trouble getting volunteers to work the booth. There was discussion about the
poor placement of the booth this year. Joyce will talk to the fair organizers
and request that the booth be returned to the site next to the library book
sale tent next year. She asked if the board thought we should also have a
booth at the Arts and Crafts Fair, which takes place two weeks after the Art
Fair in the same location. She questioned if the purpose of the booth is to
make money or to gain exposure for the group. The board decided to do both
fairs next year and advised that Joyce recruit someone else to oversee the
second fair.